Ceiling suspension member and system



R. L. HARLAN Feb. 20, 1968 CEILING SUSPENSION MEMBER AND SYSTEM 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 14, 1966 INVENTOR. ia/mm W 477'02/VEY R. L. HARLAN CEILING SUSPENSION MEMBER AND SYSTEM Feb. 20, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 14, 1966 m m E V W.

AI'TUEA/EY Feb. 20, 1968 R. L. HARLAN CEILING SUSPENSION MEMBER AND SYSTEM 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 14, 1966 0R. y i? fN M u L. 4 W m Z United States Patent Ofiice 3,370,301 Patented Feb. 20, 1968 CEILING SUSPENSION MEMBER AND SYSTEM Robert L. Harlan, Geneva, 11]., assignor to Jim Walter Corporation, Tampa, Fla., a corporation of Florida Filed Apr. 14, 1966, Ser. No. 542,523 8 Claims. (Cl. 287-189.36)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A ceiling suspenison system having an inverted V- shaped configuration and slots cut in sides thereof and oriented transversely with respect to the length of the member. The slots being so adapted as to permit easy formation ofextensions for the connection of cross-members in slots of main members.

This invention pertains to a ceiling suspension system, and more particularly to an exposed ceiling suspension system in which interlocking suspension members are easily assembled to form a rigid grid to support ceiling panels.

In current building construction, ceilings may be suspended from an overhead support which usually is the under side of the floor above the ceiling, or the support for the building roof. In order to support the ceiling in place, a network of suspension members is formed by interlocking such suspension members to form a grid and suspending the grid from an overhead support. The suspension members have horizontally projecting flanges which support acoustical ceiling panels or tiles and light fixtures to form a continuous ceiling. In a particular type of ceiling, the acoustical panels are mounted so that they can be easily removed from the suspension system to afford access to areas above the ceiling for repair and maintenance of heating ducts, electrical conduit or fluid conveying lines. It is also highly desirable that the ceiling grid system be capable of being disassembled in small sections without disturbing larger areas of ceiling for access purposes.

While various types of suspension members are now available, each type has serious disadvantages; such as, high cost of fabrication, multiple parts which must be assembled together either at the factory or on the job, or difiicult and time-consuming methods of assembly must be used. Where quick and easy access to areas above the ceiling is desired, many other types of suspension systems fail to provide this feature. An additional, but not less important, consideration is the necessity of providing a rigid, tightly interlocked system. Unless such a rigid system is provided, the suspension members may not lie in the same plane or may be askew at an unsightly angle away from the horizontal; thus destroying the aesthetic effect of the ceiling.

Also, since the length of the main members may not span the total length of the ceiling, additional splicing elements are provided in other types of suspension systems. Furthermore, because of separate requirements, the ends of shorter cross-members are different in shape or configuration from the ends of the main suspension members, thus resulting in separate inventory and ordering problems for the manufacturer, dealer and installer.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel suspension member and system which overcome the shortcomings of the prior art.

It is another object of the present invention to provide novel suspension members which can be fabricated from a continuous ribbon of sheet metal and used without additional parts or components.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a novel suspension member which can be interlocked with similar suspension members to form a rigid grid support for ceiling panels or tiles and fixtures.

-.It is still another object of the present invention to provide a novel suspension member which can be easily connected with other similar members with a minimum of effort.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel suspension member which can be easily detached from other members to provide access to areas above the ceiling.

Summary of the invention Aceiling suspension system member is designed to have a basic inverted V configuration with spaced slots located in its divergent sidewalls and oriented transversely to the length of the member to receive extensions of crossmembers. The extensions of the cross-members are formed adjacent the base of the V by cutting through slots in itself. The extensions have outwardly struck bosses to form locking means for rigidly securing them within the slot. As a further feature, the slots may have a width twice the thickness of the material from which the member is made so that the extensions are held tightly in place. Additionally, for convenience the slots have an upper opening wider than a lower opening with sloping sidewalls to facilitate insertion of an extension of one member into the slot of another.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals indicate like elements and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a ceiling using the suspension members of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of a continuous perforated strip of metal showing details of the suspension member of the invention;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of a selected length of the suspension member of the invention;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-section view of the suspension member of FIGURE 3 taken along line 44 thereof;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of a portion of a grid system formed by interlocking pre-cut lengths of the suspension members;

FIGURE 6 is a plan view of a partial area of the suspension member of the invention, and

FIGURE 7 is a cross-sectional view of the area of FIGURE 6 taken along lines 77 thereof.

With reference to FIGURE 1, the suspension members 10 and 11 of the present invention are shown as they are assembled in a generally rectangular grid pattern by interlocking various ones of these suspension members. As Will become apparent hereinafter, all of the suspension members 10 and 11 are identical in configuration; that is, all members have identically shaped slots between their ends and have identical end configurations. Generally, the suspension members 10 and 11 are cut to uniform lengths in the manufacturing process, but may be easily cut to different lengths subsequent to manufacture so that they are adaptable to various installation situations. In addition, the suspension members 10 and 11 have a uniform distance between the centerlines of the slots; this distance is usually six or twelve inches, as desired. In this manner, acoustical tiles of various dimensions may be selected and used with the grid system for aesthetic effect, as determined by the architect.

For convenience hereinafter, suspension members '10 will be considered main suspension members and suspension members 11 will be considered cross-suspension members. It should be realized that this is an arbitrary designation because of the identical configuration of the members.

Each suspension member and 11 has flanges 12 which form supporting surfaces for acoustical panels 13. The acoustical panels 13 may be conventional sound absorbing panels made from cellulosic or inorganic fibers, usually bonded by a starch, plastic or resin binder system.

Conventional wall angles may be mounted at the proper height along the boundary walls for supporting the ends of members 10 and edges of ceiling panels adjacent to the walls. Wires 27, attached to the suspension members 10 and 11 through holes 28, are connected to an overhead support (not shown) to suspend the grid system in a horizontal plane. It should be realized that while a specific arrangement of suspension members in a grid are shown, other configurations can be easily assembled.

With reference to FIGURES 2 and 3, continuous strip 30, having a width of about 5 inches and thickness of about 0.020 inch, is perforated with hanger holes 28, and slots 32. A centerline 38 figuratively divides the metal strip longitudinally and the two portions and 41 of strip 30 on each side of this centerline 38 are mirror images of each other. For this reason the holes and slots in the lower portion 41 (as shown in the drawing) have a suflix a after the numbers corresponding to those in upper portion 40to simplify the description of the invention. Therefore, only portion 40 will be described in detail, portion 41 being understood to be similar thereto.

Wire hanger holes 28 may be drilled or punched conventionally and should be on aligned centers. Neither the size nor spacing of holes 28 is critical except that they are uniform but the holes are placed near slots 32 so as to provide support near the cross-suspension members which may be attached thereat. Holes 28 should be located inwardly from the outer edge of the strip 30 a sufficient amount so that as a bead is formed from these edges, the holes are exposed.

Slot 32 is cut or punched in portion 40 of strip 30 and is formed to have a lower, narrow elongated opening 43, extending in a direction transverse to the longitudinal dimension of strip 30, and a second opening above opening 43.

The shape of the various openings 43 and 45 of slot 32 is important because it permits the use of a single die operation to form a universal suspension member which can easily be severed to various preselected lengths to form either a main suspension member 10 or a crosssuspension member 11.

More specifically, the lower elongated opening 43 of slot 32 extends downwardly toward flange 12 and terminates at the flange or a short distance therebelow. Parallel sides and 51 are spaced apart bya distance substantially equal to twice the thickness of the metal strip 30. Above opening 43 is a second opening 45 which is wider than opening 43 and has inwardly and downwardly sloping edgewalls 55 and 56 which merge with the sides 50 and 51 respectively. The function of inwardly sloping edgewalls 55 and 56 will become apparent when the method of grid assembly is discussed hereinafter.

A pair of rectangular openings 60 and 61 are cut out adjacent the lower edge of opening 43 and are symmetrical with respect thereto. As will be apparent hereinafter, the openings 60 and 61 form V-shaped grooves behind bosses (hereinafter described) so that the bosses can be easily and accurately inserted into a corresponding slot in another suspension member.

With reference to FIGURES 3 and 4, there is shown a perspective view and a cross-sectional view of a suspension member 10 showing wire hanger holes 28, slot 32, and an end profile 88. Basic metal strip 30 is folded to form a bead along the upper longitudinal edge of the suspension member 10. Strip 30 is further folded so as to form flange 12 having an upper portion and a lower portion 101. Flange 12 is formed by foldingstrip 30 so that the upper and lower sections 100 and 101 respectively form a double thickness. It should be noted that the end configuration 88 is formed by cutting through slot 32 in a manner to be described hereinafter.

As may be more easily seen from the cross-sectional view of FIGURE 5, the upper head 90 comprises two interlocking longitudinal edges of strip 30. The outer edges of sections 40 and 41 are folded so that the outer edge of section 40 encases a folded over outer edge of portion 41. The purpose of the folds in the upper bead 90 is for strength and may take various configurations.

Generally, the suspension member 10 is in the shape of an inverted V with a closure across the open end of the V, formed by portion 101 of flange 12. The upper and lower portions 100 and 101 of flange 12 form a unitary piece with the diverging main sections of double web 104.

Additional strength is imparted to the suspension member 10 by means of the double thickness of the flange 12. In addition, a continuous strip can be used to form the suspension member without adding an additional covering cap member.

In order to cut the members 10 into proper lengths and leave the end configuration'such that it forms a locking relation with another suspension member, the members are out along the dashed lines 108 and 109 in FIGURE 3 removing the area 110. The distance between lines 108 and 109 is such that a recess is formed in the top bead 90, as shown in edge profile 88 and the set back is approximately equal to one half the thickness of bead 90. Below the lower end of slot 32, a rectangular piece is cut from' flange 12 along lines 112, 113 and 114, a preset distance on each side away from the centerline which is equidistant from sides 50 and 51 of slot 32. The preset distances between lines 112 and 115, lines 114 and 115 are the same as the length of the outward extent of flange 12 from centerline 38 (FIGURE 4) to the extremity 122 of flange 12.

Portions 60 and 61 are cut out as shown to provide a guide for the insertion of the end of a member into the' slot of a transverse member.

Reference may be had to FIGURE 5 which shows crosssuspension member 11 after the various cuts have been made to sever the suspension member into two parts with end configuration 88 shown at the left of the figure. The remaining metal forms an extending tab 73. Near the lower end of the tab 73 of member 11, a raised portion 125 forms a boss which when tab 73 is inserted into slot 45 and moved downwardly, boss 125 forms a lock to prevent withdrawal of member 11.

Because of the inverted V-shaped cross-section of the suspension member 10, connecting the end of a suspension member 10 to the slot of another suspension member is simplified, because the first suspension member can be brought down directly without tilting either suspension member.

Referring to FIGURE 5, the method of assembly of the grid system is as follows: it will be assumed that suspension member 10 in the foreground has been attached by suitable wirehangers (not shown) to an overhead and that it is desired to connect cross member 11 to member 10. The lower ends of the projecting portion 88 of the web of suspension member 11 are pinched together and the double thickness of web is forced into upper opening 45 of slot 32 of member 10. The downwardly, converging edgewalls 55 and 56 merging with sidewalls 50 and 51 respectively form guides which facilitate entry of the end configuration 88 of cross-member 11 into slot 32 of suspension member 10. In addition, the V-shaped notches 60 and 61 which are inwardly of bosses 125 guide the entering end so that the bosses enter into slots 32. It will be recalled that the width of opening 43 is twice the thickness of the basic strip 32 and thus, the double thickness of the web is held tightly by walls 50 and 51 of opening 43.

The end 88 of member 11 is then forced downwardly until the lower edge 127 res-ts on the upper portion 100 of flange 12. At the same time, bosses 125 which are inside sidewall 104 of suspension member 10 prevent direct outward removal of member 11. The leading edge 130 of flange 12 of suspension member 11 locks against the outer edge 122 of flange 12 of member 10. Thus the combination of the following locking features hold suspension members 10 and 11 tightly in place: (a) the boss 125 formed in lower portion of tab 73 being held against the inside of web 104 and leading edge 130 of flange 12 of suspension member 11 being held against outer edge of flange 12 of member 10, and (b) the friction fit of the compressed web sides 104 held between sides 50 and 51 of section 43 of slot 32 of member 10.

In this manner, the interconnected suspension members are held rigidly in place and prevented from either being disengaged or being installed askew. Further, because of the critical dimensions, the flanges of the various suspension members lie in the same plane and do not rest upon one another.

It can also be seen from FIGURE that a given suspension member 140 can be extended by attaching suspension member 11 to suspension member 10. At the same time, member 140 may be interlocked with suspension member at an intermediate slot 32 of member 10. Thus, the ends of each suspension member which are identical to the ends of each of the other suspension members and the intermediate slots are used to lock the ends together.

An alternative variation of boss 125 is shown in FIG- URES 6 and 7 which shows the area around boss 125. In these figures, the boss 125 has a slit 128 on the inward edge thereof. The slit 128 by permitting the inner edge of boss 125 to be free from the remainder of the metal forms a positive lock with the edges 50 and 51 of the transverse suspension member and inhibits withdrawal or disassembly of the members.

If it is desired to disassemble the ceiling to provide access to utility lines or other facilities above the ceiling, the ceiling panels 13 are quickly removed by an upward movement. In addition, the cross-suspension members 11 are easily removed by a simple straight upward movement which will disengage each side of cross member 11 from its respective slot in main suspension member 10. Because no extension of tab 73 of member 11 goes through suspension member 10, there is no obstruction to prevent easy disassembly of the system.

In summary, the present invention is directed to a novel suspension member which by a unique interlocking feature can be mounted to form a rigid but easily demountable suspension system. The suspension system is not only rigid, but the members are held in place so as to avoid an askew condition.

While a particular embodiment of the present invention has been herein shown and described, changes, rearrangements and modifications will occur to those skilled in the art and it is intended to cover such changes, rearrangements and modifications within the scope of the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. A unitary ceiling suspension member comprising:

I. unitary sheet of material longitudinally folded to form in cross-section a generally inverted V having a reinforcing bead at the apex of the V, outwardly extending flanges at the base of said V and planar sidewalls integrally connected to said reinforcing bead along one edge of each of said sidewalls and to said flanges along the opposite edge of each of said sidewalls and diverging in the direction toward said flanges;

a bottom closure portion connected marginally integrally along said outer edges of said flanges and spanning said divergent sidewalls;

said sidewalls having slots therein, said slots being uniformly spaced along said sidewalls, said slots having their major axes oriented in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of said suspension member, and being so adapted and arranged that end configurations formed by cutting into said slots on one of said suspension members form extensions, adjacent to the base of said V and insertable into a slot of another of said suspension members;

said extensions further having bosses protruding outwardly of said sidewalls to form locking means for rigidly holding said extensions in said slot.

2. A unitary ceiling suspension member in accordance with claim 1 in which said slots have a lower opening transverse to the longitudinal directionof said member and about twice as wide as the thickness of said unitary sheet of material.

3. A unitary ceiling suspension member in accordance with claim 1 in which said slots further have a second upper opening wider than said lower opening and merging therewith with inwardly, downwardly sloping edge walls to facilitate insertion of an end configuration of another suspension member with said unitary ceiling suspension members.

4. A unitary ceiling suspension member in accordance with claim 1 in which said flanges and said bottom closure portion are cut symmetrically on each side of and from centerline through said slot a distance substantially equal to the distance of the outer edge of a flange from a centerline through the inverted V cross-section of said unitary ceiling suspension member.

5. A unitary ceiling suspension member in accordance with claim 1 in which each of said bosses is separated from said sidewalls along at least one side thereof.

6. A unitary ceiling suspension member in accordance with claim 1 in which said sidewalls have V-shaped notches therein, said notches being located inwardly of said bosses.

7. A ceiling suspension system in the form of a rectangular grid comprising:

interconnected main suspension members, and crosssuspension members;

means for suspending said main suspension members in spaced, planar relationship;

each of said suspension members comprising a unitary sheet of material longitudinally folded to form in cross-section a generally inverted V, having a reinforcing bead at the apex of the V, outwardly extending flanges at the base of said V and planar sidewalls integrally connected to said reinforcing bead along one edge of each of said sidewalls and to said flanges along the opposite edge of said sidewalls and diverging in the direction toward said flanges;

said sidewalls of said main suspension members having slots therein, said slots having their major axes oriented in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of said suspension member and having an opening with a width about twice the thickness of said sheet said cross-suspension members having end configurations formed adjacent by the base of said V by cutting portions of certain of said mainsuspension members,

said end configurations having projecting bosses in a portion thereof, said bosses being of such size and position as to engage said sidewalls of said main suspension member to prevent disengagement of said main suspension member and said cross-suspension member.

8. A ceiling suspension system in accordance with claim 7 in which said opening has upper divergent sidewalls 7 8 at an end thereof to provide guide means for aiding in 3,221,846 12/1965 Brown eLal. 287-18936 the insertion of said cross-suspension member into said 3,290,075 12/1966 Jahn 287-18936 main suspension member. 1 3,035,256 2/1967 Znamirowski 287189.36

References Cited 5 FOREIGN PATENTS UNITED STATES PATENTS 7 620,469 5/1961 Canada. 3,010,550 11/1961 Lydard 287189.36 MARION PARSONS, JRQ, Primary Exwrfiiner.

3,142,367 7/1964 Brown et a1 287189.36 

